{"product_id":"mandarin-lemon-balm-melissa-officinalis-mandarina","title":"Mandarin Lemon Balm | Melissa officinalis 'Mandarina'","description":"\u003cp\u003e🌿 Ships well rooted in a 3.5 x 5 inch deep pot. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEverything you love about lemon balm, with a twist. Where standard lemon balm smells like fresh citrus, Mandarina smells like a just-peeled mandarin orange, warm and sweet and unmistakably different. Brush past it, brush against it, or simply step nearby on a warm afternoon and the fragrance stops you cold. The genus name Melissa comes from the Greek word for honeybee, and it earns it: bees work the small white flowers heavily through summer, and the foliage itself is a mosquito repellent worth having along a patio edge or walkway just for that reason. The leaves are the prize: fresh in tea, in salads, in fish and chicken dishes as a citrus substitute, dried for potpourri and herb pillows, or steeped as a simple, flavorful everyday herbal tea that needs no explanation beyond how good it smells.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's a vigorous, fast-growing mint family member that spreads by seed and rhizome, so cut it back hard a few times through the season to keep it tidy and prevent aggressive self-seeding. Containers are a great option if you want to enjoy the fragrance without managing the spread. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e🌿 Latin Name: Melissa officinalis 'Mandarina'\u003cbr\u003e🌞 Light: Full sun to part shade; afternoon shade appreciated in Zone 8 heat\u003cbr\u003e🌱 Soil: Well-drained, moderately fertile; adaptable to a wide pH range; average to rich preferred\u003cbr\u003e💧 Water: Moderate; fairly drought-tolerant once established; keep consistently moist for best foliage production\u003cbr\u003e📏 Mature Size: 2 to 3 ft tall; spreading clump by seed and rhizome\u003cbr\u003e🌸 Bloom Time: Late spring to midsummer; pinch flowers to extend leaf production\u003cbr\u003e🗺️ Hardiness Zone: 4 to 9\u003cbr\u003e🦋 Wildlife Value: Excellent bee plant; attracts bumblebees and native bees; natural mosquito deterrent\u003cbr\u003e🌿 Edible\/Culinary: Leaves used fresh or dried for tea, cooking, herb vinegars, salads, potpourri, and sachets; mandarin orange fragrance and flavor; excellent citrus substitute in cooking\u003cbr\u003e⚠️ Spreading note: Prolific self-seeder; cut back before flowering to manage spread, or grow in containers\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"New Earth Nursery","offers":[{"title":"3.5\" x 5\" pot","offer_id":43138198798407,"sku":null,"price":11.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0577\/5058\/5415\/files\/1_2a2d5ba4-5060-41a9-a69c-84940e013609.png?v=1787859777","url":"https:\/\/newearthnursery.com\/products\/mandarin-lemon-balm-melissa-officinalis-mandarina","provider":"New Earth Nursery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}